May
12, 1999 -- In sixth grade Charles John Oakeley Wodehouse
III and Daniel Good Van Clief III made a promise to each other:
to get into the University of Virginia and to room together, just
as their dads had.

The
boys' graduation on May 23 shows how seriously they took that promise
and reflects the strong bond their fathers forged at U.Va. more
than 20 years before.

In
1966 Charles John Oakeley Wodehouse Jr. was a self-assured first-year
student at U.Va. An outgoing sort, he quickly became friends with
fellow dorm resident Daniel Van Clief Jr. Soon the two -- "Chuck"
and "D.G." -- were inseparable, sharing such common interests as
fishing, surfing and traveling to Sweet Briar College to meet girls.
They pledged the same fraternity, St. Elmo Hall, and lived together
for three years.

On
one trip to Sweet Briar, Wodehouse met Cami Crocker, who later arranged
a blind date for D.G. with her sorority sister, Trish Neale. The
two couples eventually married and both had sons in 1976.

Despite
the Wodehouses living in Florida and the Van Cliefs in Kentucky,
the couples stayed close and enjoyed vacations together. It was
during one of those annual vacations that the boys pledged to room
together at U.Va.

In
1995 both were accepted under early decision and have lived together
throughout their four years. They see many of their dads' traits
in themselves: they both love to fish and surf, and they both have
enjoyed fraternity life. They are members of St. Anthony Hall.

Danny
shares his dad's love for the horse industry. D.G. Van Clief Jr.
grew up on a horse farm in Esmont, outside of Charlottesville. He
is now president of the Breeders Cup, the championship of the horse-racing
industry. The family has also kept the Esmont farm, where Danny
and Charlie have worked together the last six summers.

Although
the boys share common interests with their dads, there have been
some differences in their U.Va. experiences. The younger generation
has been active in student self-governance -- an interest their
dads did not pursue. Charlie has been active on the University Judiciary
Committee and Danny served on the Honor Committee. Danny was president
of their fraternity, and Charlie served as vice president of the
Inter-Fraternity Council.

"Dad
was here during [Dean of Students Bob] Canevari's first year here.
Dad was in Canevari's office because of some activities involving
his fraternity. Twenty years later, I'm in the same office working
to solve IFC problems. It's ironic that my dad was in the Dean of
Students Office for doing bad things with his fraternity while I
was there, trying to do good things for the fraternity," Charlie
said. His dad is president of CSX Technologies in Jacksonville,
FL.

The
boys hope their paths will stay intertwined after graduation. Charlie,
who will earn a B.A. in English with a Spanish minor, has secured
a job in management training for CSR Construction in Sydney, Australia.
Danny, who will earn a B.A. in history, hopes to enter the horse
racing industry. "I'm confident that no matter which paths we take,
we will still find time to visit each other. If our fathers' lives
are any indication, that seems a safe assumption," Danny said.

For
more information, contact the boys at (804) 984-5759 or (804) 979-1122.
They will be gone May 15-20.

Contact:
Ida Lee Wooteen, (804) 924-6857.

FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: please contact
the Office of University Relations at (804) 924-7116. Television
reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.SOURCE: U.Va. News Services